Development Seed

Blog

  • Robert Soden
    Feb 22, 2010
    10 comments
    Integrating SlingshotSMS with Managing News
    Lightweight systems for data collection meet powerful tools for analytics
    We can now dynamically map and visualize real time SMS messages in Managing News using the new SlingshotSMS feature. All the code is available on github. This release is particularly exciting for us because it ties together two of our core projects...
  • Tom MacWright
    Jan 22, 2010
    SlingshotSMS 0.2 Released: Now Providing RSS 2.0 and Modem Autodetection
    Today SlingshotSMS has a new release for Mac and Windows and a lot of new documentation. Most importantly, it now produces RSS 2.0, works with a larger variety of modems, and can auto-connect to new devices. Using SlingshotSMS is a lot smoother now...
  • Tom MacWright
    Aug 14, 2009
    3 comments
    SlingshotSMS Alpha Code Released: A Lightweight SMS Gateway on a Stick
    Mobile routing tools for decentralized data collection in the field
    SlingshotSMS is a lightweight open source SMS gateway that can run run on a laptop or a USB drive and all the code is available on github. Using an GSM modem or cellphone, SlingshotSMS will send and receive text messages on behalf of your web...
  • Robert Soden
    Aug 13, 2009
    Dry Run of SlingshotSMS for Situation Monitoring
    Integrating a lightweight SMS server with Drupal
    We finished up our simulations at Camp Roberts with a dry run of SlingshotSMS, a lightweight SMS server written in Python that listens for incoming messages and provides an HTTP service for a RESTful interface that we were able to integrate with...
  • Eric Gundersen
    Aug 5, 2009
    Data Collection Simulations in the Field at Camp Roberts
    Testing Drupal as an Glue Layer for On the Ground Operations
    Robert, Tom, and I just arrived out at Camp Roberts up in rural central California, about 4.5 hours north of Los Angeles. We are kicking off a three day data collection simulation at McMillian Airfield. We were asked to participate in the exercise...
  • Ian Cairns
    Mar 12, 2009
    Africa's Mobile Access Rates Are Big News for Mobile Applications
    United Nations Agency Reports Huge Growth in African Mobile Subscriptions
    An article published last week highlights some remarkable statistics about mobile access in Africa: where only 2% of Africans were using mobile phones in 2000, 28% have cell phones today. This exponential growth in cell phone adoption is significant...
  • Will White
    Jan 29, 2009
    1 comment
    Parsing and Storing Data from SMS Messages
    Examples of How Regular Expressions Can Be Used to Parse Incoming Messages with Drupal
    SMS is an excellent way to collect data from remote areas where internet connectivity is sparse. Drupal's SMS Framework makes it possible to create an intelligent message parser, so the incoming data can be processed and stored in a useful manner....
  • Bonnie Bogle
    Nov 21, 2008
    SMS Gateway Featured in a MobileActive Guide to Using Mobiles for Citizen Media
    SMS Gateway Could Help Improve Access to and the Creating of Citizen Media
    The SMS Gateway was featured in a report recently released by MobileActive as an open source mobile tool that could help make citizen created media more accessible. The SMS Gateway acts as a bridge between mobile phones and Drupal websites, letting...
  • Eric Gundersen
    Aug 20, 2008
    5 comments
    Demo of Two Way SMS Gateway on a USB Stick with Drupal Integration
    New Open Source Tools Will Make Decentralized Data Collection More Effective
    The release of the SMS Framework 1.0, along with the road map for a 1.1 version, is making Drupal a more attractive platform for organizations that need powerful, decentralized data collection tools. This recent work shows that using Drupal can give...
  • Will White
    Aug 6, 2008
    5 comments
    Setting Up a Two-Way SMS Gateway with Gnokii and Drupal
    Gnokii Sends and Receives SMS Text Messages Using USB or Bluetooth
    In addition to all of the work being done on the SMS Framework, we have also started researching how to quickly create our own two-way SMS gateway for sending and receiving SMS messages. It is a proof of concept based on needs we are hearing from...